I am not prog (help with a riff)

Matt Till · #1 02-14-2006, 07:26 PM

http://d51.yousendit.com/F/1GMV2CJV9...6K631/LOOP.WAV

That's on yousendit.com so it will be available for seven days or a limited number of downloads.

That is a guitar riff (well two guitar parts put together) I wrote. It's got a proggy feel and I like it. But I'll be damned if I can add anything more to it!! I'd like some simple spacey key parts to go with it, some soft synths, but I can't find anything good out of it.

I don't know what progression/chord shapes it is based on. Or if it is perhaps to dissonant to dissect... who knows. It sounds quirky and weird to me.

My question, if anyone knows what tonal center it is based around (key... chord progression... chord shapes... I don't know) let me know. I know it's lame me asking you, but I don't know jack about music. Maybe I should learn someday.

Also... anyone know what time signature it is in?

I am not teh prog...

chips · #2 02-15-2006, 06:18 AM

Has a sort of spanish feel to me. I could definately jam along and write to it, but that would involve people and stuff. It would make a cool completely random part in a song.

Sorry i cant help. But i thought i'd post because im bored

Matt Till · #3 02-15-2006, 09:25 AM

That's cool. I'm not really putting this up for colab purposes. I've got parts before and after it... it might have to be just a guitar break or something because I can't really seem to add much more to it.

I just recorded it with my looper (so it's lo fi and mono) to see if anyone knows what key/chords it's working around. I have a feeling this is one of those things that have multiple answers. I'm writing some stuff in my head for a bassline as I listen to it loop. It has kind of a gentle giant feel (at least that what I was going for). I just have to work on it more I think.

Benjamin Strange · #4 02-15-2006, 11:51 AM

It's hard to tell what's going on once the second guitar comes in, but as for the first figure, it's in 3/4 at 178 bpm. I'm feeling a 4/4 against it, with a decending bassline; Bb - G - Gb - F. It seems like perhaps that maybe something similar to what's happening with the second guitar part, but it's a bit sloppy and out of time with the first loop and hard to tell. Overall it feels like it's in Bb minor.

Don't worry, I won't steal this riff from you this time.

chaosMK · #5 02-15-2006, 12:04 PM

I would put a half-time hit hat/snare/bass drum groove to it and draw it out till things match up. I think if you extend the part a little longer, you can make a more coherent synth addition to it (which could be a simple slow ascending/descenting pattern).

You can also try a low rhythmic pattern bass part on a root note that is in a similar or complementary (if you are into polyrhythms) time signature.

Matt Till · #6 02-15-2006, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Benjamin Strange

It's hard to tell what's going on once the second guitar comes in, but as for the first figure, it's in 3/4 at 178 bpm. I'm feeling a 4/4 against it, with a decending bassline; Bb - G - Gb - F. It seems like perhaps that maybe something similar to what's happening with the second guitar part, but it's a bit sloppy and out of time with the first loop and hard to tell. Overall it feels like it's in Bb minor.

Don't worry, I won't steal this riff from you this time.

Thanks for the analysis. Yeah, I should have recorded it less sloppy, that would have helped. But I just threw it down on my looper to get it recorded so I would be able to remeber it. But this breakdown helps. The chord shapes are odd and I wasn't sure what the bass note was, I was hearing a lot of stuff.

chaos: Thanks for the suggestion, that would help. I'll give that a shot. I've got a bunch of ideas that fit with this riff, but I have yet to make it a song... I just don't have the time it seems.